Yes—buying Path of Exile currency or other in-game items for real money is against Grinding Gear Games’ rules and can get your account banned. GGG’s policy covers both buying and selling, including transactions using external currencies such as Forum Gold. The precise odds of being caught are not public, so no seller’s promise of “safe” delivery can make the transaction risk-free.
What GGG’s rules say
GGG’s RMT and External Trading policy prohibits buying or selling Path of Exile items or accounts for real money or external currencies. It also prohibits offering money or external currency for items or accounts and advertising external item-selling sites in game or on the official forums. The policy’s scope includes operating a service that sells items or accounts for anything other than Path of Exile items.
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A GGG Support reply likewise says that buying or selling in-game items or accounts for external currency breaches the Terms of Use and is a bannable offence. Support says GGG takes real-money trading seriously because it harms the in-game economy and creates a pay-to-win advantage. The policy applies to Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2.
How much ban risk is there?
The rule is clear; the probability of enforcement for any particular buyer is not. GGG has not published figures for the number of real-money-trading bans, how many banned accounts belonged to buyers, or how long bans last. There is also no public official statistic that would let a player calculate the odds of a purchase being detected.
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In April 2026, PCGamesN reported a warning message shared by a player saying their account had been detected trading items or progress for real money. The outlet suggested GGG may be increasing automated enforcement, but the image was unverified and some players called it an April Fools’ joke because of its timing. It is an uncertain report, not proof of a broad ban wave. AllKeyShop repeated the same warning as evidence for a purge of RMT users, so it does not independently confirm that claim.
There is no confirmed official GGG announcement in the available reporting of a PoE 2 ban wave specifically targeting buyers and sellers. Nor is it established that every case results in the same penalty: public information does not confirm whether bans are temporary, permanent, or accompanied by a currency or item wipe in every instance.
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Does buying PoE 2 currency change the answer?
No. The policy is stated to cover both Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2, so buying PoE 2 currency from a third party for cash or external currency is not a safe exception. The same applies whether the seller calls the transaction a service, a trade, or a guaranteed delivery.
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No seller can override GGG’s rules. A commercial seller, GameBoost, claims that buying does not automatically lead to a ban and that risk rises when bot accounts or flagged sellers are involved. That is the seller’s own claim, not an official GGG assurance; it does not change the policy or establish a safe threshold for buyers.
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Using a third-party seller also adds ordinary transaction risks such as scams, chargebacks, and account theft. Even if a delivery appears to succeed, that does not make the underlying real-money transaction permitted.
What to do instead
- Trade within the game’s economy: use in-game currency and the official trade site rather than paying a third party with cash or external currency.
- Build resources through play: use currency-farming and crafting strategies suited to your character and league. These take time, but do not require buying items for real money.
- Ask your community: friends or a guild can help with gear, advice, or group play without turning the exchange into an external-currency purchase.
- Keep optional spending official and distinct: official cosmetic purchases or supporter packs are not in-game currency. They are not a workaround for purchasing currency from another player or seller.
Is it legal to sell in-game currency for cash?
GGG’s policy says selling items or accounts for real money or external currencies is not allowed and is bannable. That answers the game-rules question; it does not establish whether a particular sale violates law in a player’s jurisdiction. For buyers and sellers alike, the practical point is that cash sales are against GGG’s rules regardless of how a seller describes them.
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